“There is high cost cremation, low cost cremation and there is free cremation. We are sure you will agree that while low cost cremation is good, a free service is hard to beat.”
–LifeQuest website
It is hard to beat free.
A steadily increasing method of disposition in our country (in the states that allow it) is whole body donation. The family donates the remains of their loved one to one these non-academic, many for profit, agencies. In exchange they receive a free cremation of the body parts that were not sent off for use in other areas.
How popular is it? In Arizona, the state tells us that 12% of all deaths are these types of donations. The figure actually can be much higher (possibly up to 20%?) as several of the agencies contract with funeral homes to remove the deceased and file the necessary death certificate and obtain the transit permit. The funeral home’s name is on the permit, rather than the donation agency, which can confuse the figures. This figure has climbed dramatically over the past few years.
How is the public learning of these agencies? They all have marketing departments and are not shy about mailings and advertising. The Arizona Republic regularly features these companies display ads on the death notice page that advertise “more than a free cremation.”
LifeQuest Anatomical is one such agency. Their website states “If you do some research you will find costs vary in range from direct cremation at $1,800 to a full service upwards around $7,755. Since the cost continues to rise, a free cremation service with whole body donation can be a smart alternative.”
The other, more successful method is through hospice. Most hospices in states, where these donations are legal, discuss this option with families. Why? The altruistic reason is helping out families who may have a difficult time with the cost of final expenses. Also, many of these full body donation agencies make contributions to the charitable foundations of the hospice organization.
ScienceCare, another rapidly expanding agency recently rolled out their HOPE program working through Hospice organizations.
“HOPE Program: A Guarantee for Hospice Patients. The Science Care Hope Program is a pre-screening program that allows patients, families, and healthcare providers to know with certainty if a donor meets current research criteria before the time of passing. This gives your family peace of mind when it’s needed most.”
How Does the HOPE Program Work? The patient must be under hospice care in Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida or Texas.
It goes on to specify that they will work with the family or health care provider to complete the registration so that the procedure at the time of passing is minimal. The problem for the funeral director is that the process is a completed agreement before the “first call” is received.
The other program that is used by several whole body donation agencies is various versions of a “guaranteed acceptance program.”
Research For Life of Arizona is one organization that offers this (from their website):
“Patients referred to Research For Life that are accepted based on an initial assessment, are guaranteed to be accepted at the time of death even if health conditions change later on. We do this to show that our commitment is about honoring and respecting the gift that has been offered, and about honoring the relationship between the hospice and the donor and their family. We know it’s the right thing to do to give the donor and their family the piece [sic] of mind they need during the difficult times they face together.”
Who would be declined for medical research and education donation? BioGift doesn’t offer a “guarantee.” The reasons are stated on their website:
“Most of the general population is eligible for donation of body to science. However, we cannot guarantee that a body donation for medical research is suitable until a determination is made by us at the time of death.
Donors with active communicable diseases (diseases that can be passed from person to person such as viral Hepatitis, HIV/AIDS, Creutzfeldt Jakob Disease or Tuberculosis) may not donate. Other factors may prohibit donating to BioGift such as severe obesity (>50% over normal weight), excessive edema, decomposition, trauma or embalming.”
What happens if they are refused? The family had better prepare a “Plan B,” such as paying for a cremation. They cannot always assume their family member will be accepted.
Who are these agencies? Here is a partial listing of these agencies: BioGift (Oregon); Bio Ethical Anatomics (Texas); International Institute for the Advancement of Medicine; GenLife (Arizona); Biological Resource Center (Illinois and Arizona); Life Legacy; Research for Life (Arizona); ScienceCare (Arizona and Colorado); LifeQuest Anatomical (Pennsylvania); Genesis (Tennessee); Medcure (Florida, Nevada, Oregon) and the list goes on and on.
Who regulates these agencies? Only four states have regulations governing these agencies: Florida, New Jersey, New York, and Oregon. Florida will soon require all agencies to be accredited by the American Association of Tissue Banks. The federal Uniform Anatomical Gift Act was adopted by many states. This allows them to solicit donations.
What do they do with the donated decedents? The agencies that do not directly use the tissue themselves (which is the vast majority), broker parts out to customers. Knee joints ligaments, skin, bone and most any tissue is medical teaching facilities such as colleges. It is illegal to sell body parts but it is not illegal to charge for the extraction, preparation and transportation, all of which can have a hefty fee. The consent agreement family’s sign has wording something like this: “I am consenting the body to segmentation, and disarticulation.”
Slate.com discussed this in September 2010:
“Car manufacturers sometimes use cadavers in crash tests, according to Wired magazine. Researchers claim that, despite advances in dummy technology, there’s still nothing like good old flesh and bone to validate new safety features.”
Slate also discussed other uses for donated decedents:
“The military also relies on donated bodies. The Army, for example, occasionally uses cadavers to test safety equipment for soldiers. In 1999, researchers suspended corpses in full battle uniform above simulated minefields to find out which footwear would be best for minesweepers. (A specially designed boot won, but sandals turned out to be as good as the standard combat boot.) An Army doctor in 2002 wrapped corpses in new bulletproof vests and fired at them with an air cannon, which uses compressed air to fire bullets. (A few suffered rib fractures from the force of the impact, but no skin was broken.) As for arms-testing outside the military, the National Institute of Justice, a federal agency, has hired university researchers to test nonlethal weapons like rubber bullets on cadavers.”
Tulane University had some bad publicity back in 2004 when it was learned that seven of the decedents donated to them ended up in military testing.
The Wall Street Journal reported: “Tulane used a body broker to send surplus cadavers to other medical schools, but several ended up in military medical research. The problem, say experts, isn’t the safety research for which the cadavers were used, but the fact that family members may not have been told of the possibility.”
Snopes.com put it a little less delicately: “The university paid National Anatomical Service, a New York-based company that distributes bodies nationwide, less than $1,000 a body to deliver surplus cadavers, thinking they were going to medical schools in need of corpses.
The anatomical services company sold seven cadavers to the Army for between $25,000 and $30,000, said Chuck Dasey, a spokesman for the Army's Medical Research and Materiel Command in Fort Detrick, Maryland. The bodies were blown up in tests on protective footwear against land mines at Fort Sam Houston in San Antonio.”
The majority of the decedents donated to these whole body donation agencies are used for legitimate life improving education and research. The families, though, must see the whole industry with transparency. The family has no choice in how their loved ones are used.
The other issue is the family is left without support to compose and place an obituary, to have assistance with veterans benefits, to help organize a memorial service or gathering, to assist with the vast amounts of paperwork and have a place for resources in final care matters that funeral home would offer.
Why would a funeral director do removals for one of these agencies? Most of the firms contract with removal services and do their own filings, excluding the funeral home from all aspects. My firm does removals for two of these agencies on a regular basis (we are in a semi rural area) and occasionally for some others. The reason is that this was a decision made by the family before we were called. I feel that my presence in the family’s home introduces myself to them. Our choice to offer the placement of an obituary in the local paper, obtaining a flag for a veteran and other simple courtesies without charge leaves them a positive memory of our firm for the members that will not be donating their remains. It also has led (with no solicitation) to the discussion of using the chapel for a memorial service or the purchase of an urn or memorial jewelry. I have found it is better to be part way in than out altogether.
This method of disposition will increase and these corporations will find their way to get into states that currently forbid them.
The rule to remember: It is hard to beat free.
“The growing popularity of this option has had a dramatic effect on how funeral service providers view Whole Body Donation. Most funeral homes and morticians understand that it is the donors and their families who make the decision regarding the disposition of their body following death. The scientific and medical benefits to humankind cannot be ignored and most Funeral Homes will support this decision.”
–Research For Life website